My Dad rarely spoke about residential school. However, one thing that stuck with me was his account of how the older boys would position themselves closer to the door in the dorms so the younger boys wouldn’t be chosen when the priests came to get them at night.
#215children
Last visit with my grandsons before I head back to Comox Valley. Next visit in about 5 weeks. Little nap on Papa… love them so much. Nobody told me you can love anybody this hard when you are a grandparent. I feel like ppl have been keeping secrets about how intense it is! ❤️🪶
My daughter sent me the full text of her Master’s thesis that she just successfully defended. I printed all 112 pages & put them in a binder. Started reading & couldn’t even get thru the dedications without bawling my eyes out. I’m so damn proud of my badass girl!! 😭❤️😭❤️😭
So the vast majority of my Twitter feed is people utterly fed up & unimpressed with the
#FluTrucksKlan
people, and it seriously makes me happy & gives me hope.
For those who say nothing changed because of the Cdn election:
-Maxime Bernier lost his seat
-A major Calgary riding flipped to Lib
-Richmond Centre flipped to Lib
-$10/d childcare
-climate change action plan
-Anti-science/anti-vax has to take a backseat
Nothing indeed.
We are ALL high risk. There is no separate minority segment of the population we get to force into hiding to “stay safe”. Get COVID once, twice, ten times… it will inflict lasting damage & we don’t get to choose if/when/what. I hate seeing this when the world does not.
I have noticed a significant increase in general laxity about PPE since COVID masking has been dropped. A significant % of OR staff (esp anesthesia & RTs) not bothering to mask inside actual OR even when sterile fields are open & set up.
Masking in healthcare settings should be permanent. As important a mitigation as many other things we do (hand washing, isolation, terminal cleaning, sterilization, disinfection, cohorting, etc). It’s not ideology, it’s simple common sense. 😷😷😷😷
I support vaccine mandates for all healthcare workers. Going on the record to say so. There needs to be a hard line on this. If vaccines are not for you, then neither is healthcare.
@DrNadiaChaudhri
tops my list. She is living her final days in Palliative Care, yet actively fundraising to support underrepresented students of Neuroscience. She is making art. And memories with her Sun & Moon. Tears in my eyes writing this. She is beauty & grace & a rare gift.
Used to be that it was unthinkable to be unmasked inside an active OR. Even in the hallways during active OR time. It’s a sad commentary on the impact of the antimask stupidity spilling over to areas where it can impact quality & safety of the patient care environment.
It’s a remarkable statement on human nature that we have gone from fear to respect to disregard to dismissal of an ongoing deadly pandemic in 2 short years. Took that long for society to decide that the vulnerable are literally expendable. I’m not a fan of humanity these days.
My grandsons are so cute I can barely handle it. They are 71/2 months old, almost starting to crawl. Found their voices so there is a lot of baby screeching these days, and they both laugh a lot.
#timelinecleanse
I’ve seen unmasked anesthesiologists & RTs for emergency CS & gyne cases… I don’t get it. We mask to prevent contamination of open surgical wounds. Just because COVID mask mandates are over doesn’t mean INSIDE an operating room is a mask free zone.
Over here in BC wearing a mask every day, in public, just to spite
@jkenney
. I’m not even NDP, either, I’m pro-democracy. Must be the way I was raised to believe in human rights & a social contract. Yes, even Indigenous people can be raised right.
How did I end up in a universe where public health messaging focuses on washing your hands in the midst of an airborne viral pandemic? Can someone hit the quantum button so I can switch over to the sane version of the universe please??
Some of my followers know this, I suspect many do not. I have 2 husbands. We’ve been successfully navigating a triad relationship (throuple) for almost 9 years. One is a Social Worker, one is an Anesthesiologist & I’m the OBGyn. Can’t imagine life without them. ❤️🌈🤟🏼❤️🌈🤟🏼❤️🌈🤟🏼
I’m just one person who chooses to be fastidious about masking inside the hospital, I can’t take on the entire system. But it’s discouraging to see & I wonder how many patients go on to have nosocomial surgical infections because of relaxed cultures around masking now.
Apparently “Learn to live with COVID” actually means “Get COVID & see how it goes even if you have a weak immune system because we’d rather cull you than wear a mask”.
Why are UCP supporters such angry, unhappy people? Legit question. They’ve had the UCP in power for the past 4 years, but I’ve only seen them get angrier & more unhappy while publicly supporting the UCP version of “conservatism”.
If your teenager has pre-existing medical conditions and they die in a car accident, does that make it any less tragic & devastating?!?!
@CMOH_Alberta
, you are way off base. You come across as trying to justify this death as less impactful because they weren’t perfectly healthy.
Americans accusing people in Canada of arson leading to forest fires in order to push the “climate & decarbonization agenda” is a really, really special form of stupid. Get a f*****g grip. The degree of conspiracy stupidity in the USA is literally mind boggling.
3rd dose
#Moderna
. As a healthcare worker more than 6 months out since my 2nd dose, I feel relieved to receive this booster. Keeping myself, my loved ones, & my patients safe.
Well… I hope BC gets a lot of the good doctors from Alberta. I cannot imagine how it’s going to be for the average Albertan trying to access healthcare from now on. This is a provincial & national tragedy that will play out horribly in actual human lives.
Providing pregnancy terminations today & tomorrow in Calgary. IT SHOULD NOT BE THIS DIFFICULT FOR PATIENTS TO ACCESS ABORTION!! Patients from all over the damn province!! Why isn’t this service available at every regional centre in AB?!?!?
#ableg
#AbortionIsHealthcare
@DShepYEG
As a son of a residential school survivor, the discovery of 215 children’s graves in the Tk’emlups residential school grounds chilled me to the bones. How many more at other RS grounds elsewhere will be found? I just want to hug every FN person I know.
#Allmyrelations
@Songstress28
I can’t begin to imagine how hard it is to survive under these circumstances. Thanks for covering it Brandi. This is an incredibly important story. The province & the city are actively putting people in harm’s way.
I was an abortion provider in Calgary. Every single one of them was necessary because they were done at the request of the patient for their own myriad reasons. Bodily & reproductive autonomy are sacrosanct.
#AbortionIsHealthcare
Let's keep this short & sweet:
To
@ABDanielleSmith
&
@Alberta_UCP
: If you actually enact legislation that restricts abortion as your MLAs are attempting to do, know this story:
In 2021 I got pregnant for the first time.
And in 2021 I miscarried
1/x
Can severe mismanagement of the pandemic in Alberta be considered a crime against humanity? The current wave of disease and death was preventable with competent leadership. It has been managed much better in other jurisdictions; AB is the absolute worst case.
My bro not doing well in ICU. Still on a ventilator since Sept 24. Likely now has either sepsis or a ventilator-acquired pneumonia. His ICU team is doing a stellar job. Still hopeful he will overcome all this. Thanks for all the well wishes, prayers & good thoughts. ❤️🪶❤️🪶❤️🪶
I haven’t updated on Twitter about this in awhile, but 2023 is the year I will become a grandpa! Most of my age cohort back home have grandkids, I’m just glad to finally be joining this demographic!! Twin boys due in the Spring!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Solidarity to all my MD and nurse colleagues in Alberta. You tried. You really, really tried. Absolutely nobody can blame you if you decide to move to a less toxic environment after all is said & done. You deserve so much better.
I met another
#Alberta
physician at work today. There is a definite connection when you both understand why we left and went through the upheaval of a move to a different province because of
@UCPCaucus
.
#ableg
“There’s a nasty bug going around… everybody is getting it.” COVID. That nasty bug has a name. And it makes other infections worse (RSV, strep, influenza, mycoplasma…) due to immune dysfunction. When will we learn & mitigate?!?!
Another devastating loss in my home community. My cousin ended his own life with a gun last night. My aunty’s youngest. Why, why, why do we have to lose so many loved ones too soon?? He was only 26. Rest now cousin Eli, I wish you hadn’t felt this was your only choice. 💔💔💔
Today is 80 days since I last had any alcohol. I was shocked to look back & realize it’s been that long. I intended to go a month. Soon hit 6 weeks. Now 10 days to go for 3 months. Don’t miss it. My body & brain are way better off without it. 😊
When I see anti-maskers, “freedom rallies”, COVID deniers do their thing, I see people who are living with such a poverty of spirit & connection. They are filling the void with these activities that reinforce their blindness and self justifications.
If you are not Indigenous, and you are a parent, please do this thought experiment. A knock at the door. Armed strangers speaking a foreign language are there. They grab your kids and load them up, drive away. No explanations, no recourse. Police aren’t available to help you.
If I were an
#Alberta
family doctor, I would post a sign at the front desk: “No Mask Exemption Letters Provided”.
@CMOH_Alberta
, you are adding ridiculous stress and wasting everybody’s time.
It’s worth doing everything possible to avoid getting COVID for the 1st time. It’s similar to getting hit by a car the 1st time. If you survive it, getting hit a 2nd & multiple times more is likely to cause cumulative, irreparable harm. Mask up, clean the air, vaccinate.
#BeSmart
I came out at age 35… 20 years after realizing I was
#gay
. Stayed in the closet & even got into a hetero marriage because of religious homophobia & pressure (evangelical Christianity). This is why we need
#Pride
. We need to show everyone we are here & we belong. 🌈
#LGBTQplus
🌈
Canada Day is problematic for many Indigenous ppl. We still live with the multigenerational effects of residential schools. Anti-Indigenous racism is real. Today I choose to celebrate our survival & all our achievements despite Canada’s vigorous attempts to erase us. 🪶
Hit a little milestone: 42 days with no alcohol. I finally decided it was not a good coping strategy for stress & I was 100% right. Sleep is waaay better, craving for junk food is almost gone, & no longer worrying that I was consuming too much. Sincerely liberating to stop.
Re: Alberta. My partner has been encouraging me to “let it go” for awhile now. I get it. On a certain pragmatic level, that has to happen. But goddammit it’s not easy. I miss my old life as I work to fully resettle in BC. All the good here does not erase what I had in AB.
I grew up loving people who were so impacted by residential school that they turned to the numbing effects of alcohol to be able to cope. Everyone knew why, & there was no judgment. Alcohol was a used as a survival strategy. Things I remember hearing ppl say:
Notice how not one of those
#gracelifechurch
protesters got shot through the back of the head, even when they trespassed on a nearby sovereign First Nation territory & refused to leave until they were made to by the RCMP?
So they pave the roads for one old white man, but not for the First Nation community who has needed this for a long time?!?! The colonial irony is strong!!!
Why am I anxious over an election outcome in a province I don’t live in anymore & never will again?
1) I still care about my former patients & colleagues
2) 3 of my kids live there
3) Public healthcare matters
4) It will bolster or weaken democracy
#AbElection2023
#ableg
Re: the pandemic: Albertans are being treated in a similar fashion to how Canada has treated Indigenous peoples since its inception… As disposable, in the way, a nuisance, a commodity, or in the way of profit. The UCP is genocidal to the Alberta population. I said what I said.
On April 1/23 I became a grandpa! My daughter gave birth to these beautiful twin boys. Life has taken on a whole new meaning as a Papa… my Dad was known as Papa Don to his grandchildren & now I will be too. Immense joy, love, & happiness for our family. ❤️🪶❤️🪶❤️🪶❤️
I got to work with my Anesthesiologist hubby last night! First time in almost 2y! We covered OB & OB Anesthesia call. We sent this pic to our other hubby to say goodnight. ❤️
Visited my bro in ICU today. Mom & I both wore our orange shirts. Had an amazing chat with his nurse. She wore an orange ribbon, & was very open hearted. She had a lot of respectful questions & was amazing with the care she provided.
Feel like the Canadian flag has been tainted by the convoy & their actions? Before the convoy the flag already represented systemic racism against Indigenous people. It’s hard to taint something already tainted. But waking up to that is a new experience for many, it seems. 🇨🇦
@viewtiful_joe__
I dropped out of premed because of organic chem. Took a Nursing degree, then worked as a nurse for 5 years. Tackled organic chem again & somehow passed. Got into med school & the rest is history… definitely agree organic chem hasn’t helped me be a better doctor!
Shout out to all the Indigenous, Black, Asian, Muslim, & LGBTQ+ people just getting through your day in Canada. We belong. We deserve safety, security, respect, & opportunities to thrive & build amazing lives. We don’t need to ask permission. ❤️🌈🪶❤️🌈🪶❤️
Off to Winnipeg to attend the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada meeting. Can’t wait to see old friends & meet the younger up & coming docs, residents & students. Soul medicine to gather w/ other Indigenous docs. Sent pic to my hubbies b4 takeoff… say no to COVID. 😂🪶
I imagine the look of shock on the faces of those who support what the UCP is doing to Alberta healthcare in January when they need to access healthcare & there is no room for them or unthinkable delays. Who will they blame at that moment?
Had a great visit with my big bro. He’s still quite weak & a bit confused. But he still talked my ear off for over an hour. In the midst of family heartbreak losing my cousin, we have something to be grateful for.
#Ha
íłzaqvStrong
#Family
#Love
❤️🪶🙏🏼
Shout out to the ICU team taking care of my brother. He’s about to be extubated, having made major improvements in his breathing over the past 48h. They are hoping not to have to put the tube back in, but it’s looking promising. Non-COVID pneumonia is harsh, but he is winning. ❤️
I feel relief living in a country whose leader has stated this many, many times & has actually shown up for the LGBTQ+ community. I wish many of our LGBTQ+ family in other parts of the world had as much (Here’s looking at you,
@StateHouseUg
). 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🌈
It doesn’t matter what your sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression is: You are worthy of love. You are deserving of respect. You are valued. And as a government, we’ll continue to have your back – this Pride season and all year long. Happy Pride! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Heard on
@cbcradio
that
#Brazil
held an inquiry into Bolsonero & his govt’s handling of the pandemic. They are set to recommend indicting him for crimes against humanity. So
@jkenney
it’s happening in other jurisdictions. I hope for a similar inquiry in
#Alberta
.
#ableg
If you see someone in a position of power and they use/misuse that power resulting in an ever-rising death toll… isn’t that worthy of a massive, emergent response?? Alberta is in exactly this position.
@jkenney
must be held accountable.
@UCPCaucus
must be stopped.
My grandbaby twins are 34 weeks gestation today. As an OBGyn soon-to-be grandpa, the immensity of relief I feel that they made it to this date is real. If you know, you know!!
#Obstetrics
#Neonatology
#Pregnancy
You are mandated to pay your income tax & GST. You are mandated to wear a seatbelt & not to drink & drive. You are mandated to not assault people. You are mandated to stop at red lights & not speed. Life without mandates is a recipe for societal chaos. And here we are.
It is literally & figuratively exhausting to carry a nugget of plasma-hot rage over the damage done by the UCP. Lost track now: healthcare, education, environment, cost of living, and not least of all, the general level of human decency have all plummeted in value under them.
Having been in a gay triad (throuple) for over 10 years, just a reminder that not all relationships are dyads. I love my 2 hubbies, life would be utterly incomplete without either 1 of them. ❤️🌈❤️🌈❤️🌈❤️
Once I did a hysterectomy on a lesbian patient, & my surgical assistant & the anesthesiologist were also gay. Might not seem like a big deal now, but the patient was absolutely thrilled knowing that OR room was an
#LGBTQ
majority microcosm for the duration of her surgery. 🌈❤️🌈
It's been a hell of a year. People are pissed off. Politicians are letting us down. We've been ornery for a while.
And then...a nation learns of
#215children
, dumped undocumented in a mass grave.
@DrJCarrington
joined
#RealTalkRJ
to talk about it:
Hubbies & I successfully bid on a house on Vancouver Island. In the woods, <5 min to the beach, 10min to nearest hospital, but outside town limits. Take possession late Fall. Feels like a huge weight has lifted knowing we can leave the Lower Mainland.
#NotUrbanites
#RuralLiving
At some point, I will “move on”. But it’s like dropping a toxic family member. You can’t really “let it go” as fully as you might like. On a certain level I will always care about Alberta. I had my political awakening there. Too bad it was like awakening in the Matrix.
In the OR yesterday had a very enlightening conversation with nurses & anesthesiologist. We started with a lighthearted banter about how much I like my new job & workplace. It evolved to a full on discussion about WHY I am here in BC & didn’t stay in AB.
I’ve done locum coverage in the past in Lethbridge. It can get BUSY. High obstetrical acuity at times. It’s absolutely unacceptable that the
@UCPCaucus
has allowed the Obstetrical program there to fail. It would be like shutting down South Health Campus in Calgary.
#ableg
So in Lethbridge, Danielle Smith was asked how the local hospital can possibly deal with 2200 births/year with only one obstetrician. DS replied: "....(something) (something) home births."
That we should all be wearing N95s at work, all the time. Conferences & meetings are also part of our work. Because we should all be better educated than it seems we are on an ongoing airborne viral pandemic.
Having an ally for a PM makes a difference for the safety of LGBTQ+ people across this country. It’s an incredibly important stand to take in a world where homophobia is on the rise. Thinking of those in homophobic countries like Iran, Uganda, Chechnya… so many others. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️✊🏿🌈
Took this yesterday before heading home – because we couldn’t leave Reykjavík without visiting Rainbow Street. To everyone celebrating Pride in Iceland, in Canada, and around the world: Happy Pride season! 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Seriously struggling with a decision to keep or relinquish my AB medical license. I still have locum privileges in AB @ my former workplace. I have until December to make my decision. Transition to BC has been exhausting, but now settling in.
#ableg
#FiretheUCP
So many people I really love & care about are taking next to no precautions to avoid COVID. It’s only a matter of time before one or more of them succumb to it or have to live with Long COVID. What a dystopian time we live in.
Is it normal to cry every time someone you love gets vaxxed?! My hubby got his first dose of Pfizer today. I sat in my car at a Canadian Tire parking lot and bawled my eyes out with relief. Same thing as when my mama got vaccinated.
#ScienceFTW
#CovidVaccine
There is a difference between personal responsibility and collective responsibility. The conversation has broken down historically when Canadians get defensive about what has been done to Indigenous people historically in Residential Schools (“that was the past”, etc).
@DrNadiaChaudhri
Although you couldn’t walk today, you are helping so many of us to fly. To never take a day for granted, to love, give, share with generosity & openness of spirit. What a force you are sweet Nadia. ❤️🌺🌷❤️🙏🏼
I graduated with a BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) from UBC in 1993. I worked as a nurse in BC & Haiti until med school started at the U of C in1998. I stand with Alberta nurses.
#FiretheUCP
#ableg
#nopaycuts
#Docs4Nurses
My brother is critically ill in a hospital in Vancouver (non-COVID). He has access to ICU here, for which I am incredibly grateful. Those who know me know exactly what I’m thinking, but I’m just going to say I’m eternally grateful to his care team right now.
I’m really stressed & worried about Family Medicine and primary care in BC. Solutions are not happening fast enough. Seeing more & more unattached patients. Been managing a new dx of T2DM as no GP. I’m a gynecologist.
@adriandix
@jjhorgan
DO BETTER!! DO MORE!! DO IT FASTER!!